tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30306686683792080592024-03-20T11:31:38.398-07:00MURDER ON MY MINDMy honest views and opinions on Books & Movies on Murder/Mystery/Thriller genre.Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-82304617255881072502019-12-25T01:53:00.000-08:002019-12-25T01:59:41.401-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello! It's Christmas once again. The time for festivities, for family and for stories. My short story THE MISSIVE published on KDP as a part of pen to publish 2019 contest is now available on Amazon. It is about the struggles of a widowed woman and the bond she shares with her grandson. <b>The ebook is free on Amazon from 25 - 28 Dec 2019</b>. Link is given below Happy reading....<br />
MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR</div>
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THE MISSIVE <a href="https://www.amazon.in/dp/B082M2TRGP/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_dDXaEbHHZ9DY8">https://www.amazon.in/dp/B082M2TRGP/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_dDXaEbHHZ9DY8</a></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-25530338645741826212019-08-04T00:55:00.001-07:002019-08-04T02:45:41.174-07:00THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">How far would you go to protect the person you love? Japanese author Keigo Higashino explores this question in his chilling thriller </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Devotion of Suspect X</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The story explores the depths of the human psyche and portrays an unflinching and unfathomable devotion that renders the reader speechless with awe and horror.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorcee living alone with her daughter Misato. She has quit her former job at a bar and is now working at a local lunch shop called Benten-tei. Ishigami a maths teacher in school and her neighbour visits Benten-tei daily to purchase his boxed lunch. Everything seems to go along smoothly until one day Togashi, Yasuko’s ex-husband, shows up and tries to blackmail her. In a fit of rage Yasuko in the presence of Misato kills her husband. Ishigami comes to their rescue. He disposes off the body and prepares an elaborate alibi for Yasuko and her daughter. His brilliant plan seems to be working perfectly and it puts the police off the trail. But then enters Yukawa who is a brilliant physicist and an old friend and classmate of Ishigami. It starts a battle of wits as genius is pitted against genius - the brilliant mind of the mathematician against the perceptive and insightful mind of the physicist. The cat and mouse game goes and it leads to a shocking and horrifying final revelation.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Devotion of Suspect X</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> is an intense plot driven story which employs the classic technique of misdirection. Ishigami prepares an </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">elaborate trap for the police. The investigators led by detective Kusanagi take the bait hook line and sinker. They are utterly perplexed and the investigation starts going around in circles until Kusanagi enlists the help of his friend Dr Manabu Yukawa. Ishigami and Yukawa are an ideal foil for each other and much of the tension of in the novel arises from the interaction between them. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">All the main characters in the novel are well drawn out. Yasuko Hanaoka, a divorcee and a single mother, is a lonely and sad figure who is searching for love and stability in her life. Tetsuya Ishigami or the </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Buddha</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> is a genius mathematician. But life has not been kind to him. Instead of a university job,name and fame he is forced to take the job of a humble school teacher and live a life of anonymity. Life seems to loose all its purpose for him until one day he meets Yasuko and her daughter Misato. Dr Manabu Yukawa is a professor and a brilliant physicist. He is a classmate and an old friend of Ishigami. He is clear and insightful, has a deep understanding of the human nature and has a affinity for decoding crime and puzzles . Because of these qualities his advice is often sought by the police and has earned him the moniker </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Detective Galileo</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">. The other characters are staple in nature like the dutiful and obedient daughter Misato, the greedy & cunning ex-husband Shinji Togashi, the affectionate lover Kudo, the stock detectives Kusanagi and Kishitani.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Devotion of Suspect X </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">came out in 2005 in Japan as a third instalment in the Detective Galileo series and was an instant success. The novel has earned may awards including the prestigious </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Naoki Prize</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> and the </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Honkaku Mystery Award</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">. The novel has been adapted multiple times for the big screen including the popular 2008 Japanese film </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Suspect X </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">and the 2019 Tamil language film</span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> Koligaran</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">. The English tranlation of the novel by Alexander O. Smith was published in 2011. For the lovers of the classic murder mysteries this is a must read.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-91962455746778056012019-06-17T06:30:00.001-07:002019-06-17T11:20:27.411-07:00THE LEGEND OF LAKSHMI PRASAD: TWINKLE KHANNA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">I have been a regular reader of the articles of Twinkle Khanna published in one of the major dailies of India</span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">. </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">What distinguishes her writings is her innate wit & humour through which she presents matters of both domestic & national importance. So, when I got a chance to lay my hands on her book </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">at the local library</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> I just gobbled it up and soon I found myself going through her other works as well.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> is a collection of tales - three short stories and a novella. With her trademark wit & humour, Twinkle in each of her stories brings out the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">social & personal issues, the discrimination faced by women in India .</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">In this story Twinkle brings forth one of the greatest evils to plague India - the dowry system. In India parents are saddled with worries from the time a girl child is born. They have to arrange for a lump sum to marry off their daughters. Sometimes they have to mortgage their homes, sell their property, their lands to arrange for the money. This often lands them in the clutches of moneylenders. But sometimes even this is not enough. There is a constant demand of more and more money from the in-laws, and if the same is not met the girls are tortured, sent back to their parents house and even burnt alive. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The story revolves around two sisters Sukriti & Lakshmi growing up in a village in northern India. Sukriti is married when she is only nineteen. But she is far from happy in her new home. Her husband and in-laws torture her and there is demand for more and more dowry, or gifts as they liked to call it. Burdened by their constant demands Sukriti</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’s father Bijendra Prasad is down to his last penny. In desperation he tells Lakshmi, “That is why a son is so important, for his old parents to lean on. With daughters, all our life savings go away in giving and giving.”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">One day Sukriti is sent back to her parent’s home ‘holding the gifts her in-laws had given her in return- burns on her back, from boiling water and hot pans’, when their demands for dowry are not met. Soon it is discovered that Sukriti is pregnant. She wants the baby to be a boy. She tells her sister, “Lakshmi, I hope this baby is a boy. Life is easier for them. We girls have nothing. We go to live in other people’s houses and they treat us like slaves.” But the child turns out to be a girl. When her in-laws learn that Sukriti has begot a girl child, they refuse to take her back claiming that Sukriti had not been pregnant when she left their house. Sukriti’s father is ready to sell their fields to arrange for the dowry, so that Sukriti’s in-laws will take her back. At this point Lakshmi, who had been but a mute spectator, stands her ground and asserts herself, “Enough with this managing, of this bending……. It’s only when we have something that people will stop treating us like we are nothing.” She then comes up with a unique idea that will not only save her sister’s but of life of generations of girls in her village. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">In this short story Twinkle brings out the various evils that plague the women in our society. She not only depicts the problems but also comes out with a viable solution.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Salaam, Noni Appa</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">In this story Twinkle brings out the loneliness that pervades the life of the elderly and their desire to find some love & companionship in old age. Noni & Binni are two elderly widows living alone in their respective flats. Noni</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’s daughter is now settled in London. The two sisters try to fill the void in their lives by engaging in various frivolous activities like shopping & frequenting the parlour; they also try art classes & also join embroidery classes but these fail to hold their interest for long. In comes a sixty three something yoga teacher Anandji in their lives. He has a harrying wife and tries to escape his domestic discordance by taking yoga classes. Noni & Anandji bond over yoga and playing cards. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Soon they develop feelings for each other that are beyond the carnal. Anandji says to Noni “At our age I cant say that my heart flutters when I am near you, but it hums contentedly, and I want to spend the time I have left listening to that sound.” In each other they have found the love & companionship that fills the void in their lives.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">If the Weather Permits</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The stores narrates the tale of a modern woman searching for love and the societal pressures which forces her into loveless marriages with disastrous effects. The story opens with the marriage of Elisha Thomas with her long term boyfriend Javed. Elisha has been in an on-off relationship with Javed for eight years. “She had married Javed partly because she had a bond with him and also because she needed to get married before she would inevitably, one weary day, succumb to one of the Malayali boys, a Varghese or a Joseph, it didn’t matter which, that her parents used as battering rams to beak her defences down.” But soon the marriage breaks down and she is back at her parents house. “Two years went by where Elisha went from one relation to the next like she was trying on a pair of jeans, slipping it on, twirling around and then leaving it in a crumpled heap on the floor.” The pressure of her relatives again forces her into marriage a second time. This time with a half mad, clinically depressed drug addict Chacko who is the son of the local district collector. This marriage also ends in disaster and soon she dumps her husband and is back with her parents.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">With her inimitable wit Twinkle exposes the institution of marriage. In India women are often forced into marriages as soon as she completes her studies or gets a job. She often succumbs to the pressures of the parents and society and often enters into an arranged marriage with a total stranger. The result is often a loveless marriage with disastrous effects to both the partners. On her honeymoon Elisha realizes the fallacy of her marriage to Chacko, “In the darkness, she sensed the empty space that lurked inside her, which she kept away with laughter and company; the vast loneliness that had brought her to this point, where she was now married to a man whom she not only hardly knew but had no interest in knowing better. Elisha spent half the night staring at the ceiling fan as it turned round and round endlessly, moving continuously but not going anywhere.” Twinkle also pokes fun at the evils and superstitions associated with marriage in our society. Elisha’s father tells her to marry a tree first as she is a Manglik, and this ritual would enable her to acquire a “nice Malayali boy.”</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Sanitary Man from a Sacred Land</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">This novella brings into focus one of the most pertinent and burning issues of India - Menstrual Hygiene. Menstruation like sex is a strict taboo in India - you don’t talk about it like it does not even exist. A recent study has found that only 18% women in India use sanitary pads. Most women in India particularly in rural areas are forced to use dirty clothes which results in poor hygiene & diseases . The taboo is not only limited to the rural areas but even in urban India we find the taboos associated with menstruation. During their periods women are often treated as untouchables and are barred from participating in religious ceremonies. The issue has recently gathered international attention because of the Oscar winning documentary </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Period.End of Sentence</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> The novella depicts the struggles of Bablu Kewat to make low cost and affordable sanitary napkins which are accessible to all. Bablu is shocked one day to find his wife Gowri using a dirty rag during her periods. He promptly buys her a packet of sanitary pads. But instead of being happy on seeing the packet she retorts, “If Shalu and I start buying these packets every month, the let alone curd and ghee, we will not even have enough money to buy milk.” Bablu is dejected but he decides to make the pads at home rather than let his wife use a dirty piece of cloth. He promises his wife, “Gowri, I will find a way to make a pad for you at quarter the price.” Each month he tries to make the pads using various combination of materials like cotton and cloths </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">at home</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> but each time he fails. During one such experiment at testing his home made pads, he uses a rubber bladder filled with goat’s blood and a plastic tube and attaches it to his body to resemble a realistic uterus. But unfortunately he is discovered by the neighbors with bloodstains on his pants and is ostracized by the society and abandoned by his wife and relatives. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">He leaves his village, b</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">ut instead of giving up Bablu becomes more resolute at making low cost pads and making them accessible to all the women of the society. After years of hard work and with the help of his distant relative Bhaskar Sharma, a Professor at IIT Indore, he finally manages to build a machine which could manufacture sanitary pads at fraction of the cost of the such products available in the market. But instead of selling his machine to some multinational company and making a a lot of money, he decides to travel from one village to another selling his machines to the women there and helping them set it up so that they can be financially independent.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The story is b</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">ased on the real life story of Padma Shri awardee Shri Arunachalam Muruganantham and has been adapted into the screenplay of the 2018 blockbuster</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> Pad Man</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">, starring Akshay Kumar.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">In </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> Twinkle Khanna emerges as a Feminist with a difference. Her brand of feminism is not limited to just male bashing but in each of her stories she brings out the relevant issues pertaining to women of today's India. The ease with which she brings out the humour in everyday mundane matters reminds one of the works of Ruskin Bond.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Other Books From the Author</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">1. </span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">MRS FUNNYBONES</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">In her debut book </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Mrs Funnybones</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> Mrs Khanna recounts episodes from her own life. With her self-deprecating humour she tells us one anecdote after another . From the baby to the man of the house, from her mother-in-law to her own mother, everyone has to pass through the intense scrutiny of her microscope of humour. It is a tale of the struggles of the quintessential modern Indian woman trying to balance her professional & domestic life. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">2. </span><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">PYJAMAS ARE FORGIVING</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Pyjamas Are Forgiving</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">, the latest offering from the author is a journey of a woman to self discovery. Anshu is a divorced middle aged woman. The infidelity of her husband and the consequent divorce had hit her hard and she went into depression. She was able to recover slowly only with the help of her sister. Now every year she visits Kerala’s Shanthamaaya Sthalam, which is an ayurvedic spa cum resort to heal herself. But this year among the residents of Shanthamaaya she notices one familiar face-her ex-husband Jay, who has come here with his trophy wife to settle a deal. Passions are reignited as Anshu is irresistibly drawn to her ex-husband. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-54813674958112674602019-03-24T11:11:00.001-07:002019-03-24T13:06:01.455-07:00THE STRANGER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Life is made up of moments. Some small, some large, some sweet, some bitter. They come, they go. But some linger on, longer than usual, and become memories. Today I am opening my memory vault to narrate a story that has left an indelible mark on </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">my life. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My university education along with the rich and inclusive Bengali culture had given me a certain secular outlook on life which I was proud of. But this incident changed it all. It made me question myself, and altered the course of my life forever….</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">It was the time of assembly elections in Bengal.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> I was on training for my election duty. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My interactive session was over by </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">12 o</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">clock</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> and we were instructed to assemble again by </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">2.30 pm.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> As I had enough time during the lunch recess I just looked for a quiet spot on the lawn, opened a novel and started reading. Through the corners of my eyes I could see a person who was sitting a few yards apart looking at me. After a few minutes he got up and walked up to me.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : What are you reading?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : (For God</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’s sake just leave me alone) Oh! Just a novel by Agatha Christie.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : Is it any good?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : (Why don’t you mind your own business) It’s just a thriller. Good way to pass the time though.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : Can I sit here?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : (Fuck off) Sure.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : Are you here on election duty?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : (No, I am here to sell pakoras) Yes.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : What do you do?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : (None of your business) I work for a Nationalized Bank.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : So they give election duty to Bank employees now. Huh!</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : Yes, just my luck. What do you do?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Stranger : Oh I am a driver at the local BDO office. How is life in the Bank?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">I could see that this fellow was not going to leave me alone. So, I finally closed the book I was reading and we started chatting. After 15-20 minutes of conversation( if you could call it that, he was mostly doing the talking, and I the listening), during which we became fast friends, he pointed out that It was time for lunch, “Aren’t you hungry yet?”. “Indeed I am”, I said. “Have you brought lunch from home?”, he asked. “No, I have not”, I replied. “Let’s find a cheap restaurant to eat then”, he said. We agreed and together we went in search for a place to eat.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> After about a 100 metres we found one which looked clean and tidy enough. I was about to enter it when I heard my new friend cry out, “Don’t go in there”. “What’s the matter?”, I asked. “This place is not right. Lets eat somewhere else”, he replied. I was confused. I followed his furtive glance and saw the name of the place, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">NAZEER FOODS : Indian and Mughlai. Pure and Halal Food. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Now I understood. My stomach was already growling and I thought, </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">seriously, now we are going to play Hindu-Muslim at this point of crisis</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">. I was about to say something when he again pleaded, “Bhai, lets go someplace else.” </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Bloody racist</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">, I thought. But I acquiesced. So, we went in search for a sudh Hindu restaurant. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Looking around I saw that this was a Muslim area. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">I was now in an indulgent mood.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : This looks like a Muslim neighbourhood.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My Dear Friend : Yes, looks like it.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : The place is swarming with these people. Slowly they seem to take over the whole city. It will be difficult to find a Hindu restaurant here.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My Friend : Lets keep looking.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">So, we kept on walking. After about 10-15 minutes of walking a signboard greeted us: </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Radhey Shyam Hotel. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">At last. Hunger was practically playing a KKR vs CSK IPL final in my stomach. So we promptly ordered two plates of fish and rice (the quintessential Bengali delicacy called Maach-Bhat). The food was good and we had our hearts fill.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">After the hearty lunch as we were walking back we noticed a shop selling paan and cigarettes.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My Dear Friend : Do you smoke?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : No. But you carry on. I don’t mind.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My Dear Friend : No Bhai, some other time.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : All the walking and searching for the perfect restaurant seems to have paid off. The food was good.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My Dear Friend : It was indeed.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">By the time we were in sight of our destination I was very thirsty. We bought couple of bottles of Bisleri. As I was drinking the water my friend remarked, “It was nice meeting you.”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Me : I am glad too meet you as well. By the way I forgot to ask your name.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My Dear Friend : Mohd. Ansari.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">My jaw dropped open…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-39179944912624576922019-03-10T10:48:00.000-07:002019-03-10T11:45:00.619-07:00How I Met Your Mother<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><u><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Prologue</span></u></b><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Hey Buddy!!! Your mother has recently accused me of not being expressive enough of my love for her. Of not saying how much I love her and expressing my love on social media like Facebook with such terms of endearment as Janu, Sona, My Love, My Life, and not posting photos of her cooking with the caption Made by my Lovely Wife. I have always been a very shy and reticent person who likes to keep his thoughts to himself. But today I am going to tell you a story. This is a story of a simple village boy and a smart city girl, how their different worlds collided and became one. This is my story<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our story</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.of How I met your mother. The title of the story is borrowed from a popular soap opera but the rest of the story is carved from the pieces of my heart . You are too small to understand it now but one day you will grow up and read this and convey it to your mother and then she will understand</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">..</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><b><u><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Chapter 1 : The Girl on the Platform</span></u></b><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">The story starts years ago on a train. I, a third year student, was travelling to Kolkata to join a tution class. As I alighted on the platform and was looking for my buddies, I saw this girl get off the train. As she passed me with a smile on her lips, a cool breeze blew across the parched valley of my heart. It was just a moment, an instant, and then it was gone<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. she was lost in the milling crowd. My mates approached me and soon I was on my way to my classes with the image of this girl with a lovely disarming smile. Little did I know then that we were destined to meet again on the same day</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">and then again</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. and again</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. that the smile will remain with me forever</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. and like the sun brighten up my dull days</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.like the lode-star guide me through my darkest nights</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">..</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Chapter 2 : And Here We Meet Again</span></u></b><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">It was my first day at the coaching centre. I promptly arrived and took the only vacant seat available. As I looked around , I was surprised to see a girl seated across the room<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. The Girl with the Golden Smile, watching me her captivating eyes. I was intrigued. I wanted to know her name, to befriend her. But being a shy kind of guy who hardly spoke to girls outside his circle, I retreated back to the comfort of my cocoon. But, by the end of the day I somehow managed to know the name of my mystery girl</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.Madhumita</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">I never believed in love at first sight. I still don<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">t. In subsequent days I formed a more clearer picture of her. A fair skinned Brahmin girl from a well to do family from the suburbs of Kolkata, thinking herself superior to the rest, living in her ivory tower and looking down upon and judging people like me from small town. Well I disliked her then. I normally was a chivalrous young man but I decided to adopt this cavalier tone towards her. We even had a few fights. One day as I was taking some papers of my friends to the get them xeroxed, she asked me if I could take hers as well. I was piqued. How could she just sit there smugly and order me around. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Can</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">t you get them done yourself? Are your feet made of clay?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">, I quipped. We had our fight, but I got them done xeroxed anyway. For gods sake I was not a monster to turn down pretty girls</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. I was just showing her a bit of my attitude.</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Judging people while not sufficiently knowing them is a crime. And as time passed I realized the depth of my fallacy. It was not she who was judgemental, I was. She was just diametrically opposite to the image I had formed of her. It was my insecurity, a dark skinned small town boy hailing from a so called lower caste Hindu family, that I had projected onto her. It was fuelled by the endless chatter of her friends who liked to bitch behind her back<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. welcome to the girls world (me being too sexist eh, well if its any comfort we boys do it as well). With time we slowly started conversing a little and started to know each other</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. Our prejudices started to melt away</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">……</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><b><u><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Chapter 3 : The Proposal</span></u></b><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">She was this colourful vibrant young woman whom everyone desired. I was this reticent, brooding young man whom people liked to despise. My shyness was often taken to be a mark of my arrogance. There could not have been two different people imaginable. But they say opposites attract<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">..</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">I used to steal glances at her while pretending to be deeply immersed in studies. One day as I looked up at her, I saw her looking back at me. Our eyes met<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">……</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Those deep dark eyes looking into mine</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.and I knew. I tore my eyes away</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">… </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">but something sharp had already pierced my heart. The cupid had cast its proverbial arrow. Focus I said, focus on your studies, you could not fall into love at this point. Concentrate on your studies, exams are ahead. Failures had taught me one thing in life - to focus on your goal. So, my mind said pay attention to your studies you fool. But the love bug had bitten deep and I could feel its poison run through my veins. I had to get it out of my system</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. I had to let her know of my feelings</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">..</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">We used to find excuses to talk to each other. But we were always with a room full of people. I<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">… </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">we</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. wanted some time alone. One day at the end of the classes I found her lingering behind. Her friends had left. I took my cue and took an unusually long time to tie my shoelaces. So, my friends also moved ahead. Finally we were the only two left behind. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our friends seem to have deserted us today. Let</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s walk together to the station</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">, I said. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Okay</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">, she replied in her sweet voice. So, instead of taking a rickshaw we walked to the station together. It was awkward though. We did not know what to say to each other. It was long silence</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. a bit of forced conversation</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. then silence</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. anyhow we somehow made it to the station together. We parted ways. Stupid fellow, I said to myself, what were you thinking, you would be lucky if she ever talks to you again. But I could not be more wrong. We went for classes twice a week and the next day the same routine followed except that this time the conversation flowed more naturally. This continued for weeks. Had the others noticed? They surely must have, but at that time I couldn</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">t have cared less.</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Our classes were coming to an end. Then came the Bengali festival of Neel Sasthi. I would surely propose to her on this auspicious day. But the words never came out. I cursed myself<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…… </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">surely the next day. I was determined this time around. I started with light conversation. She seemed in an unusually cheerful mood. As we approached the platform time seemed to run out. I gave her a Subho Nobo Borso (Happy Bengali New Year) card. She seemed to like it. Say it</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">… </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">We were now on platform No.1 taking the overbridge towards platform No.2.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. Say it </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. I opened my mouth to utter those three magical words</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">You know, today is my Birthday</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">, she said suddenly</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. Oh Hell</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. should I say it now? What if she says no? It would spoil her birthday and I would never be able to forgive myself for making her sad on her birthday</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">……</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Next day perhaps</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. But someone inside me cried out</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. Be a Man, its today or never</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. I mustered enough courage and asked her cautiously </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Have you loved anyone before?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”……</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. awkward silence</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. Man I had blown this </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. After a long silence she said encouragingly </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Actually I never have.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”…… </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This was my moment</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.. I said, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">You know how I feel about you??? Do you feel the same.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”……</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">..more silence</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. Then slowly she replied, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">You know how I feel, don</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">t you???</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">”…</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">..</span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">That day when the train came to a halt at my hometown I was not on it. I was miles away with someone special. We had found love, and we were not willing to let it go. Though I couldn<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">t afford any expensive gifts, she afterwards told me she got her best birthday gift on that day .</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">…… </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Love.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rXbux9LqvSiXDGmPiMkEN8g_UQr_U3G4v8Xf-WYnXFuqGKQF0XWe1WwnZFqxE9f1iYd-DqBUqFpFfsZKRdclN2kobAWNiIXO-5z7RbR5oPDfwXFFxoquXGRMCO0v_E8eol_Tl2BjbdZ5/s1600/FB_IMG_1552237048009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="818" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rXbux9LqvSiXDGmPiMkEN8g_UQr_U3G4v8Xf-WYnXFuqGKQF0XWe1WwnZFqxE9f1iYd-DqBUqFpFfsZKRdclN2kobAWNiIXO-5z7RbR5oPDfwXFFxoquXGRMCO0v_E8eol_Tl2BjbdZ5/s400/FB_IMG_1552237048009.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Chapter 4 : Things That People in Love Do</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Love is a wonderful emotion. It uplifts you, transforms your dreary everyday existence into the ecstasy of Eden…….. But Love can also be a hard taskmaster, especially if you don’t have a penny in your pockets……</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Vignettes</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Scene 1:</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">A couple is sitting on a bench on the Platform. Trains come… trains go….people are rushing by….they are oblivious….they just look into each others eyes….</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Scene 2 :</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">A railway overbridge….. a couple are having their first fight…. They are planning to go to a restaurant. They are arguing about who will pay the bill…. the boy wants to pay…. the girl offers to pay as she knows he doesn’t have a penny on him….</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Scene 3:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">A boy and a girl are walking…..sometimes holding hands, sometimes apart…. they don’t know for how long they have been walking……they don’t know where the path will take them…. the girl is not used to walking, you can see her feet bleeding….but she doesn’t care…..they have each other…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Scene 4 :</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">A hot summer afternoon…. It’s 45 degrees outside and humid…. there’s not even a dog on the road….. a boy appears, holding an old rickety bicycle in one hand, a mobile phone on the other….he is soaked in sweat…sweat is running in streams from his forehead, his eyes are blinded by it….. but he is afraid to wipe the sweat from his brows, least the call get disconnected….. wonder who he is talking to…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Chapter 5 : Enter the Villain</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Every love story needs a villain…. I too had mine…only in my case the villain was not a person…. It was much more than that….. It was one of the Seven Deadly Sins….. My Sloth….</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">For four long years I had been living in a dream world. We had become so lost in one another that the outside world did not exist. But this dream bubble burst with the first prick of reality….. One day a call came…..“They are fixing my marriage. Today I am supposed to pose for my profile photo”.…. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">All Hell broke loose….my world had turned upside down…. “Hang on”, I said, “I will always be with you…… just don’t let go”…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Thus began the most difficult phase …….the struggle to stay together, the struggle to stay alive…. of burning the midnight oil, of frantic searches in newspapers and magazines for jobs, of giving job interviews….. “Just hang on….don’t let go”……</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Finally my Bela Bose*** moment arrived…… only in my case, my Bela was there on the other end of the line…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Chapter 6 : A New Beginning</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">With the sounds of Shehnai, ullur dwoni and saankh I arrive</span><sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: super;">###</span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">, clad in the traditional Bengali Punjabi and Dhuti….. She awaits in an upper room in her red Benasari Sari…… rituals are performed…. garlands are exchanged…..shoes are stolen. Tears are shed at the Bidai….. As we depart for our home, she sitting beside me, it all slowly begins to sink in… it was end of one journey and the start of another…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">(And They Fought Happily Ever After)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Epilogue</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Here my son, I rest my case. You be my messenger, and convey my message to her that ours was a Love that that overcame the hurdles of penury, caste, colour, status and inverted the accepted social norms……. and may be….. just may be….. one day she will understand…..</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">P.S.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> - The above piece was written as a series of Facebook posts to woo back the affection of my estranged wife. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">(</span><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Notes</span></u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> - </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">***Bela Bose is a song by the famous Bengali auteur Anjan Dutta in which a boy telephones his girlfriend after getting a job. But the call came just a bit too late….</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: super;">### </span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">This Para describes the</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> Bengali Marriage Rituals)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-38653440668940106572019-02-16T12:08:00.000-08:002019-02-16T12:57:27.214-08:00The Book Thief - Markus Zusak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The time is Nazi Germany. The start of the second world war. Death is at its busiest collecting souls by the thousands. He notices the Book Thief for the first time while he is collecting the soul of her little brother. Subsequently he has many encounters with her. Over the course of the book Death narrates the story of the Book Thief Liesel Meminger, her Papa Hans Hubermann, Mama Rosa Hubermann, friend Rudy Steiner and a Jewish Fist Fighter Max Vandenburg; and when Death tells a story, you really have to listen.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The story starts on a train to Munich in which Liesel Meminger, a ten year old girl, is travelling along with her little brother and mother. The children are to be given over to foster parents in Molching. But Liesel</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’s brother does not survive the journey and dies on the train. Her mother hands her over to the authorities at Munich and leaves never to return again. Liesel is then taken to Molching, a town on the outskirts of Munich, to her new foster home at </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">33 Himmel Street</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> where she is greeted by her new foster parents the Hubermanns. Here she befriends a boy named Rudy Steiner. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Over the course of the book we witness the life and adventures of Liesel and Rudy - the football on Himmel Street, the school life, the stealing of fruits and books, and finally the war.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Hans Hubermann (Papa) is a kind, loving and merry figure; a painter by profession who likes to roll his own cigarettes and play the piano accordian. He has already cheated death once in the First World War. Eric Vandenburg, a Jew and Hans</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’ dear friend saved his life during the war but was himself killed</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">. When he went to meet Eric</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’s family Hans promised Eric’s widow and son that he would help them if ever the need arises. On a later date he would surely be required to keep his promise.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Rosa Hubermann (Mama), was once beautiful and quiet spoken as described by Hans to Liesel. But time has changed her. Now we see the picture of a squat woman </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">“who looked like a small wardrobe with a coat thrown over it.” Her vocabulary consists of chiefly two words, Saumensch and Saukerl, which refers to pigs of the female and male varieties respectively. “Her cooking was atrocious. She possessed the unique ability to aggravate almost anyone she ever met. But she did love Liesel Meminger. Her way of showing it just happened to be strange. It involved bashing her with wooden spoon and words, at various intervals." But behind the tough exterior Rosa had a heart of pure gold as subsequent events in the book would prove.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Max , is the son of Eric Vandenberg. He was nearly two years old when he lost his father to the war. At nine his mother was completely broke and they moved to his uncle</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’s house where while fighting with his cousins his love for fist fighting began. Soon he began to engage in fist fighting on the streets. He held a job at an Engineering Factory but was sacked in 1935 following the Nuremberg Laws of the Nazi Party. Soon after the persecution of the Jews began and by the end of 1938 Max had to leave home and stay in hiding. He remained in hiding for the next two years and was slowly rotting away when he remembered a promise made by someone years ago. He arrives at 33 Himmel Street.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The lives of all these characters meet at 33 Himmel Street (Himmel means Heaven). Here we witness their joys, their sorrows, their fears and finally the devastating effect of that war has on their lives.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch from Max's Book</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The book presents a picture of the Germany under Nazi rule. Though Hitler does not appear in person in the book, but we feel his influence everywhere. The ideology of the Master Race, the training of Hitler Youth, the hatred and persecution of the Jews, the horrors of holocaust and of concentration camps are presented in the book. Though the subject matter of </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Book Thief</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> is grim, but the author never allows the narrative to brood or slack but enlivens it with his dark humour. The narrator itself is no ordinary narrator but Death himself, who is shown to have a heart. He introduces himself, </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">“I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable….Just don’t ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> He threatens the readers </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">“personally, I don’t think you want to argue.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> But in the next sentence he reassures, </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">“Please, be calm, despite that previous threat. I am all bluster - I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result.” </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The horrors of the war are presented through the eyes of small children and ordinary commonplace people.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch from Max's Book</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Despite its grim subject matter the book is about hope, about the power of words. Liesel tries to overcome her human condition through the strength of words. It is words which binds her so deeply to Max. Each stage of her progress is symbolised by the stealing of a book. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">At her brother’s funeral Liesel picks up her first book </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Gravedigger’s Handbook</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> which was dropped by one of the gravedigger’s apprentices. Each night when she woke up after having nightmares Papa used to read her from the book in the middle of the night. Then as her reading progressed she received two more books at Christmas which was bought by Papa by trading his hand rolled cigarettes. Then on Hitler’s Birthday in 1940 a bonfire of books was lit up. Even as the embers were cooling she managed to pick up a book </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Shoulder Shrug </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">from the ashes and hid it into her dress; the book burned her but she clung on. Subsequently she would steal </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Whistler</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> and many more from the mayor’s library. At the time of war during the air raids she would comfort everyone present in the basement through her reading. Max acknowledges the power of words and in his allegorical book </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Word Shaker,</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> Liesel is shown to defeat the Fuhrer himself with the power of words.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> I have just finished reading the book and my eyes are still brimming. It</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’s full implication is yet to sink in. It has touched me in a way that only a few books have. The only other books I can think of are </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">To Kill a Mockingbird</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> by Harper Lee and </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Kite Runner</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> by Khaled Hosseini. </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Book Thief</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> undoubtedly lays its claim to be one of the classics of English Literature. It is not just a piece of fiction but a Human Document of immense value.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">P.S -</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Suggested further reading</span></u></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> : The Diary of a Young Girl </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">& </span><b style="text-indent: 21pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">To Kill a Mockingbird</span></i></b></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-11931643079977003682019-01-07T15:21:00.000-08:002019-03-09T19:46:02.088-08:00WORLD BOOK FAIR 2019, NEW DELHI : A VISIT TO PARADISE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt; text-indent: 7pt;">“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” </span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">― </span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Marcus Tullius Cicero</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">World Book Fair being held at Pragati Maidan New Delhi is one of the oldest Book Fairs in India. The first Delhi Book Fair was inaugurated in 1972 by the then President of India V.V Giri. Back then it was a biennial event. Since 2013 the fair is being organised annually by National Book Trust in association with Indian Trade Promotion Organisation generally in the first to second week of January. It is being promoted as Asia’s biggest Book Fair and it is here that I propose to find my true soulmate- Books.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The 2019 World Book Fair is being held from 05-13 January at Pragati Maidan from 11 am to 8 pm. The theme of this year is ‘Books for Readers with Special Needs’ and ‘Sharjah’ (UAE) is the Guest of Honor’s country. On 05 of Jan I had </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">an </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">early brunch and by 11 am I was on a</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;"> metro towards Pragati Maidan. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;"> I reached Pragati Maidan Metro Station around 11.30. It is barely 05-10 minutes walk from the metro station and by 11.40 I was inside the fair grounds ready to explore a limitless world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpJ4SDbGZD49TlaK0VGdIUlf8OhGctUEgat0D4sGAQoEAED6tmZUYMGptspF3IGpopl9ClKGxFlAJ-ELOg1BW3nqcYvEEGXI37Hx-ewSpp1JVMiNYPuneBMyYQw3jivrZNAzjzC5nRX7H/s1600/BANGLA+CLASSICS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1200" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpJ4SDbGZD49TlaK0VGdIUlf8OhGctUEgat0D4sGAQoEAED6tmZUYMGptspF3IGpopl9ClKGxFlAJ-ELOg1BW3nqcYvEEGXI37Hx-ewSpp1JVMiNYPuneBMyYQw3jivrZNAzjzC5nRX7H/s320/BANGLA+CLASSICS.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">My first destination was the Indian Language Publishers Hall. This was a microcosm of the Indian culture and exhibited the diversity of its literature. Books from many Indian languages were on display here. From Hindi to Urdu, from Bengali to Punjabi the stalls displayed the rich and diverse literary culture of India. Being a Bong guy I decided to visit the Bengali stalls first. I was disappointed that only a few stalls were displaying Bengali </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">Books. Still the rich literary heritage of Bengal from Rabindranath Tagore & Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay to Mahasweta Devi & Sunil Gangopadhyay was in full display here, my personal favourites being Satyajit Ray’s Feluda and Sharadindu Bandyopadyay’s Byomkesh Bakshi. But I decided to settle on the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">Pujabarshiki edition of the popular Bengali Cookery</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> magazine ‘Hangla Hesel’, as I had to return home at the end of the day and explain my absence for a whole day to my loving wife</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">. Bengalis love their food and a good cook book should amicably settle chances of any domestic discord.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTliYljqXjINpix5YPXVoi2DZSAeFs4aIgO4WyI_gpMkKW5nUGVVAlC1MR0J7khYQWTUgKZXsZ7J1JDzQ-br8954k4rIdDPb8awiz2swNKNM0AuDAsfV95T2jP1B489A_ySNEDFa2xEn2/s1600/PREMCHAND+FRESH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="901" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTliYljqXjINpix5YPXVoi2DZSAeFs4aIgO4WyI_gpMkKW5nUGVVAlC1MR0J7khYQWTUgKZXsZ7J1JDzQ-br8954k4rIdDPb8awiz2swNKNM0AuDAsfV95T2jP1B489A_ySNEDFa2xEn2/s200/PREMCHAND+FRESH.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Next came the Hindi stalls. Hindi books on a wide range of subjects, from the heartbreaking novels of Munshi Premchand and the intoxicating poetry of Harivansh Rai Bachchan to the glitz & glamour of Bollywood, were on display here. My mastery over the Hindi language chiefly consisted of my interest in hindi comic books as a child, so I decided to stick to the same. A visit to Diamond Book Stall and I was reuinted with the world’s most clever man, Pran’s ‘Çhacha Chaudhary’, whose brain works faster than the computer, and his sidekick ‘Sabu’, an alien from Jupiter & the most powerful person on this earth. Then came my tryst with the Indian superheroes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Nagraj, Super Commando Dhruv & Doga from the publishers Raja Pocket Books (the Indian equivalent of Marvel & DC). These comics brought back vivid memories of my childhood days.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">I have a four year old at home so I headed towards the kids section next. Einstein once said “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent read them more fairy tales.” Hence, I decided to select </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 21pt;">a few fairy tales and bedtime stories for my little one, so that on growing up he does not take after me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">By the time I was finished selecting books for my family, my stomach was already crying “how can you ignore me like this bro???’’. So I decided to pacify him too.Though I had a wide range to choose from, from chinese noodles to desi pav bhaji and dum biryani, but the food did not look too appetizing. I decided on the Chicken Biryani. Though the food was rubbish, it provided me with the energy to conquer the final frontier - English literature.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Books from all the major English publishers were on display . My favourite stalls being Penguin Random House India and Harper Collins. From Tintin & DC comics to the classics like </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Book Thief</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> & </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">To Kill a Mockingbird, </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Indian Mythology</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> by Devdutt Pattanaik & the spiritual </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Life’s Amazing Secrets</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> by Gaur Gopal Das to </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Sapiens</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> & </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Homo Deus</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> by Yuval Noah Harari,</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> Penguin India had a wide selection of books for everyone and from every field. Harper Collins is home to the undisputed Queen of murder mysteries, Agatha Christie and many of her titles were available here. Other notable authors include George R.R. Martin (</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Game of Thrones</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">) & J.R.R.Tolkien (</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Lord of the Rings</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> & </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Hobbit</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">). It</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> had classics such as </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Alchemist </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">and modern thrillers such as </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Woman in the Window. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Other notable stalls included Hachette, Bloomsbury & Pan Macmillan India. Hachette India had some of the finest books on Horror & Mystery, from books of the master of horror Stephen King to those of authors like Anthony Horowitz & Keigo Higashino (</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">The Devotion of Suspect X</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">). Bloomsbury was a treat for the Harry Potter fans, while Pan Macmillan had the books of such legendary authors as Jeffrey Archer. I was spoilt for choice. Next came the stalls selling old & used books. They had a wide collection and you could buy a popular novel for as less a Rs100/-. By the time I had finished going through these it was already well past 7 pm and the stalls were closing for the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">I left the fair grounds at 7.30 with loads of books. I can hardly wait to go through these. I will be posting my views on the books in my blog in the coming months. Overall I had a great time at the Book Fair. My New Year is off to a great start. Wishing you a prosperous year ahead. Happy New Year.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">― </span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Jorge Luis Borges</span></b><br />
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0New Delhi, Delhi, India28.6139391 77.20902120000005228.3907261 76.886297700000057 28.8371521 77.531744700000047tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-28807031439355516512018-12-01T11:52:00.000-08:002019-06-23T05:02:59.874-07:00THE CHALK MAN - C.J. TUDOR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Never judge a book by its cover, they say. Well, at first what attracted me to the British author C.J. Tudor</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’s </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">debut novel </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>The Chalk Man </b>wa</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">s the title and the cover of the book . The picture of a stick figure , drawn with chalk, with a noose around its neck is really creepy and intriguing. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The book explores the darker side of childhood, the secrets that people keep & the huge consequences that even small acts can have.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Prologue of the book in which a dismembered girl is lying in the woods and someone comes and takes away her head in a bag sets the tone for the book. The book is set in two time periods 1986 & 2016. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">In 1986 we find a twelve year old boy Eddie and his friends. Everyone in this gang of five is known by their nicknames. So we have, Eddie Munster, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo and Nicky. One day they go to the local fair. Here Eddie meets his new school teacher Mr Halloran. Together Mr Halloran and Eddie rescue a teenaged girl who has met with a terrible accident at the fair and this sets into motion a chain of events which ultimately leads to tragedy. It is Mr Halloran who introduces Eddie to the Chalk drawings.The idea takes root and soon the gang is sending each other secret messages through the chalk drawn figures of stick men. Trouble brews when the chalk figures start appearing on their own and they ultimately lead them into the woods where they find a murdered and dismembered girl.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Then after thirty years we see a grown up Eddie or Edward Adams in the year 2016. He is now a school teacher in the same town. Eddie thinks that the events of 1986 are are past him. But one day he receives a mail containing a drawing of a stick man and a piece of chalk. It turns out that all his friends have received the same mail. Metal Mickey pays a visit to Eddie and discloses that he is thinking of writing a book about the events of 1986. He says that he knows who the murderer was. On the way to his hotel from Eddie</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’s house Mickey is drowned in the river. In order to survive Eddie must now discover the truth of the events of 1986. As Eddie investigates he is in for a shock.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">We see the events from the perspective of Eddie. In 1986 we see the events as it appears to a twelve year old Kid. While in 2016 the world is seen through the eyes of a mature forty two years old Edward. To connect the two periods the author employs the technique of flashbacks as Edward reminiscences about his childhood .</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Though it is Tudor</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">’s debut novel but it never feels so. She is a skilful storyteller and writes in a simple, uncomplicated and lucid manner. To describe the horror of Eddie who mistakes Mickey for his dead bother Tudor writes, “</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Ghosts didn’t exist in daylight, or zombies. They only existed in that sleepy hollow between midnight and dawn, crumbling to dust at the sun’s first rays. Or so, at the age of twelve, I still believed.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">“ The characters are well drawn out. We have the jovial Fat Gav who is the leader of the pack. His humour is evident in the manner in which he describes people’s secrets, “Secrets are like arseholes. We all have them. It ‘s just that some are dirtier than others.” </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Tudor’s love of the horror, of the dark and macabre is clearly influenced by Stephen King. There are enough scenes in the book which makes one’s hair stand up on end. The prologue, the discovery of the body in the woods, the bullying of Eddie by Mickey’s elder brother Sean Cooper and his cronies, the appearance of Sean’s ghost and the final struggle with the killer is creepy and horrific. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The only problem with the book is its pacing. The mystery unfolds at a very slow pace. A lot of time is given in building up the atmosphere. The narrative shifts between the present and the past and a lot of time and space is given to the activities of the children, their games etc. Also you feel just a little bit cheated at the final revelation, though it is quite unexpected .</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Chalk Man</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> is one of the best mystery novels to come out in 2018. It is being hailed as </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Girl on the Train </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">of 2018 and undoubtedley it will be made into a movie soon. This book is highly recommended for the mystery lovers.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C.J. TUDOR</td></tr>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-36295283544167928172018-10-16T14:40:00.000-07:002018-10-16T14:49:42.956-07:00THE MYSTERY OF THREE QUARTERS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">World</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’s most beloved detective is back. After the success of her first two Poirot novels </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Monogram Murders </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">(2014) & <b><i>Closed Casket</i></b> (2016) Sophie Hannah is back with her third novel in the series, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Mystery of Three Quarters</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Returning home after lunch Hercule Poirot is accosted outside his home by an angry middle aged woman Sylvia Rule. She</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">accuses</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Poirot of writing a letter to her accusing her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, of whom she has never even heard of. Soon he is confronted by three other persons John McCrodden, Miss Annabel Treadway & Hugo Dockerill each claiming to have received a letter from Poirot accusing them of the murder of Barnabas Pandy. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Barnabas Pandy turns out to be the 96 year old grandfather of Miss Annabel Treadway who had accidentally drowned in his bath three months ago. Poirot compares the case to the Church Window Cake prepared by Euphemia Spring, the young waitress at Pleasant’s Coffee House. Each slice of the cake is comprised of four sqaures. Likewise the case seem to have four suspects. When, Poirot starts investigating he is able to establish the connection of only three of the accused to the late Mr Pandy. John McCrodden seems to the only one who has apparently no connection with the case. Hence the name of the novel </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The Mystery of Three Quarters</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> Was the death of Barnabas Pandy a accident or was it deliberate murder? Who has sent those letters impersonating Poirot and what is his/her motive? Is a murderer on the loose? Will Poirot be able to answer the questions before someone else is hurt? The mystery deepens and family secrets start tumbling out of the closet as Poirot starts digging deeper.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;"> Here we find the Poirot we have come to know and love from Agatha Christie’s books. His mannerisms, his obsession for neatness, order & method, his love for his mustaches, his use of foreign words and expressions are all there. His eyes turn green when he has hit upon the solution. But instead of Arthur Hastings here we have Inspector Edward Catchpool of the Scotland Yard as Poirot’s sidekick. The story is presented through the eyes of Inspector Catchpool. Sophie weaves a web which is worthy of Agatha Christie in its scope, conception and execution. </span><b><i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">The Mystery of Three Quarters,</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;"> is a delight for Poirot fans. Thanks to Sophie Hannah we are able to enjoy the exploits of the Belgian detective after four decades of his final exit in </span><b><i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">Curtain </span></i></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">which came out in 1975. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">Eagerly waiting for the next instalment of the series to come up.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SOPHIE HANNAH</td></tr>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-8732570423309607442018-09-28T18:41:00.000-07:002018-09-30T13:01:58.783-07:0022 SHEY SHRABAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">22 Shey Shraban</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> is a 2011 Bengali psychological thriller written & directed by Srijit Mukherjee starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Abir Chatterjee and actor/director Gautam Ghosh who makes a comeback after a hiatus of 29 years. The movie is based on the Stoneman murders which took place from 1985 to 1989 in Bombay and subsequently in Calcutta in 1989. It is suspected that the murders were the handiwork of a single serial killer who used to crush the skull of the homeless people with a single piece of heavy stone. More than 20 murders have been attributed to the Stoneman. These cases still remain unsolved.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The story is set in modern day Kolkata of 2010. 4 murders have been committed by a serial killer over the past 8 months. All the victims belong to the lowest strata of society, a madman, a prostitute, a gravedigger and a goon. The only thing connecting these crimes is that beside the bodies are found a piece of paper quoting verses from various bengali poets from Sukumar Ray to Jibananada Das. The Kolkata police are all at sea. The investigating officer Abhijit Pakrashi (Parambrata) is directed to rope in the services of Prabir Roy Chowdhury (Prosenjit) an ex IPS officer who in the past has worked on four such cases of serial killings. Prabir is a disturbed soul who is tormented by a tortured past. He has been dishonourably discharged form duty due to his extreme hatred for criminals resulting in encounters and custodial deaths. He is now a drunkard, extremely ill tempered and foul mouthed who can hardly complete a sentence without the profound use of expletives. Meanwhile a fifth murder takes place and thus begins a cat and mouse game between the serial killer on one hand and the two sleuths Abhijit and Prabir Roy Chowdhury on the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">There is another parallel track involving the love triangle between Abhijit, his girlfriend Amrita Mukherjee (Raima Sen), and her best friend Surjo Sinha (Abir Chaterjee). Abhijit and Amrita have broken up many times during the past year. Amrita<span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s best friend Surjo who is in love with her is always beside her when needed. They are both professional journalists and work for the same news channel. The news channel is planning a 13 part series on serial killers with the 13th episode being a live interview with a serial kiiller. Amrita and Surjo</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s investigation leads them to Nibaron Chakraborty (Goutam Ghose) who has spent jail time with a notorious serial killer Rafiq Ahmed. Nibaron is a would be poet who claims to be the last surviving relic of the anti establishment </span></span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Hungry Movement</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> in literature which rocked Bengal during the 1960s. He is desperate to publish his poetry and claims that there will be consequences if the establishment tries to silence his pen. He is a frenzied madman who roams the streets during night carrying his bag of poetry. For Abhijit and Prabir he seems to perfectly fit the profile of the serial killer and they start tracking him. But there is more than meets the eye.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">What elevates the movie is the performance of its lead actors. Prosenjit (Bumba da, as he is being affectionately called by his fans) delivers a stellar performance. He is one of the finest actors of his generation not only in Bengal but the whole of India. Though he has played some minor roles like the one in </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Shanghai, </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">its</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> time that Bollywood wakes up and utilises his potentential to the full. Parambrata is a very underrated actor. Goutam Ghose excels as the anti establishment eccentric poet. Raima and Abir play their parts well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The lead pair of Prosenjit and Parambrata share a terrific chemistry. Sparks fly every time they meet. Much of the finest dialogues of the movie occurs when they interact. Abhijit (Parambrata) arrives twelve minutes late when he meets Prabir (Prosenjit) for the first time:</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Prabir : You<span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">re late.</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Abhijit : I just missed the lane.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Prabir : You<span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">re late by 12 minutes.. In the last 12 minutes light has travelled the earth one and a half times, the little hummingbird has flapped it</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s wings 72,000 times, according to reports there have been eight rape cases in India in the last 12 minutes, and you just missed the lane Abhijit.</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Then again,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Prabir : Do you drink whiskey?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Abhijit : No.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Prabir : Bournvita ???</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">When Abhijit addresses Prabir as Prabir Babu, he retorts </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Prabir : Sir</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Abhijit : Sorry</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Prabir : Address me as Sir. I don<span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">t run grocery store here.</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Dialogues like these abound, and the dark humour adds to the overall gloomy atmosphere of the movie .</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The music of the movie is composed by Anupam Roy and it is one of his finest till date. The track <span style="font-family: "arial";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Je kota din </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“ </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">brings out the intimacy, the physical aspect of the relationship between the two lovers Abhijit and Amrita. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ekbar Bol </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“ </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">brings out the loneliness and pain in the lives of Abhijit and Prabir.The tracks </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ei Srabon</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“ </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">and </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Gobhire Jao</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">“ </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">brings out the central theme of the movie. Though the love triangle and the songs slow down the pace of the movie and adds to its length (run time of 140 minutes), but they are organically integrated into the scheme of the movie and do not look out of place.</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Director Srijit Mukherjee has drawn inspiration from a number of sources. Influence of movies like 2008 thriller </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Righteous Kill</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> and Agatha Christie<span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s novel </span></span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">The ABC Murders </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">can be discerned. But like Shakespeare the director has turned the borrowed materials into pure gold dust. As a psychologial thriller </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">22 Shey Shraban</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> is unparalled in Indian cinema. Only other movie which comes to mind is Sujoy Ghosh<span style="font-family: "arial";">’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">s 2012 thriller </span></span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Kahaani.</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> If you can overcome the language barrier then </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">22 Shey Shraban</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> is worth your every penny. It is the best that Indian cinema has to offer. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>P.S.- </b>22 Shey Shraban means the 22</span><sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: super;">nd</span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;"> day of the bengali month of Shraban. It marks the death anniversary of Kabi Guru </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Rabindranath Tagore, </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">the greatest poet of the land. The movie pays a tribute to the rich literary culture of Bengal and like the verses the killer leaves beside the bodies the movie feels like poetry in motion.</span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-28534865073511520802018-09-02T13:08:00.002-07:002018-09-23T08:08:16.417-07:00THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW - A.J. FINN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">“</span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">The Woman in the Window</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"> is one of those rare books that really is unputdownable. “ - Stephen King</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">There is a lot of buzz around A.J.Finn’s (pseudonym for Daniel Mallory) debut novel </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">The Woman in the Window</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">. </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">So I ordered my copy from Amazon. It arrived promptly and I began reading. With the turning of each page I got immersed deeper and deeper into the world of Anna, the principal character of </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">the novel.</span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">The pages kept turning themselves. Everything else, my family, my job took a backseat until I reached the chilling climax of the book.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">The book starts slowly by building the picture of a middle aged woman Anna Fox tormented by her past memories. Anna is living alone in her home in New York. Her husband and daughter has left her. She suffers from </span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">agoraphobia. </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">She is seeking psychiatric help and is on medication.</span><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">She has also developed a drinking problem due to her loneliness. It has been ten months since she last stepped out of her home. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">Her principal pastime is sitting by her window, watching and capturing her neighbours through her Nikon camera. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">One day she notices the Russells, a family of three moving into the house opposite her. She sees a reflection of her own family in the Russells and becomes obsessed with them. She keeps peeking into their lives through her window. She develops a friendship with the Russell boy and his mother. Everything seems to working out fine when one night Anna sees a murder being committed in the Russell household through her window. The Police arrive but find everything in order. So what did Anna witness? Was it real or a hallucination? A result of her medicines and her alcoholism? In this world nothing is what it seems.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">The novel feels like a Hitchcockian drama unfurling itself on the big screen. The writer starts slowly, building up the character and the world of its central character, investing it with a dreamlike quality. Gradually the writer builds up a claustrophobic atmosphere against which the drama of deceit and illusion is to be played out. Through flashbacks the writer brings out the nature of the extreme pain felt by Anna. The narrative picks up momentum once the Russells arrive. From this point onwards the narrative races on until it reaches its shocking final revelation. The story is full of twists and turns which keeps the reader transfixed till the end.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A.J. FINN</td></tr>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;">The Woman in the Window</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"> is one of the best mystery/thriller novels to come out in 2018. No wonder Fox Studios have bought the rights to the novel. Grab your copy of the novel before it hits the big screen.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-38349476847246486742018-08-25T15:03:00.000-07:002018-08-25T21:23:53.737-07:00GHOUL - NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Ghoul</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> is a Netflix Original mini series directed by Patrick Graham. It is the first horror venture of Netflix in India after its successful </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Sacred Games</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> & </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Lust stories</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">. It consists of three episodes of around 45 mins each and is available in Hindi (original language), English, Tamil and Telugu.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">The series is set in a future dystopian world reeling under military rule. Sectarian violence is rampant. Minorities are looked down upon. Free thinking is curbed. Books, even nursery rhymes and children literature are banned. Everything is taught according to the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">‘</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">syllabus</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">’ prescribed by the government.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> Anyone who does not conform is branded as anti-nationalist and terrorist. They are captured and reconditioned to be ideal citizens and are killed if they do not conform to the system. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">Nadia Rahim (Radhika Apte), a trainee at the National Protection Squad Academy specializing in advanced interrogation, is a product of the system. She aides in the capture of her father, a professor and one of the intellectuals who opposes the atrocities of the state. He is promptly branded a terrorist and sent for reconditioning. The ensuing investigation leads to surfacing of some secrets essential to national security and Nadia is stepped out of her training and sent to Advanced Interrogation Centre Meghdoot 31 under the command of Lt Col Sunil Dacunha (Manav Kaul) to aid in the investigation. There she is looked at with suspicion by fellow officers. Meanwhile a prisoner Ali Saeed (Mahesh Balraj) arrives at the centre. Saeed is the leader of the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">‘terrorists ‘and hence a high priority subject. The officers start the interrogation of Saeed unaware that what they have brought with them is much more than human. Slowly it starts feeding on their fears and insecurities. In the final act there is much gore and blood fest as secrets come tumbling one after the other out of the closet.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Ghoul</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> works at more than one level. It is powered by the terrific performance of its cast and crew. After her performances in the </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Sacred Games</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> and </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Lust Stories</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> Radhika Apte once again delivers a brilliant performance as the multi layered Nadia Rahim. The cinematography and the background score adds to the bleakness, the claustrophobia, the horror of the scene. There are enough jump scares to keep the audience on tenterhooks. But what works most is its multi layered narrative. It is much more than a ‘Ghost Story ‘. It is commentary on the insecurities, the fear of the minorities, the lies told, the atrocities committed under a Fascist regime and the eventual reaction, the revolution. The Ghoul is the Fascist regime preying on the minds of the people, devouring them and leaving a trail of destruction and bloodshed in its wake.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">For the millennials who have been raised with a liberal dose of </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Aahat </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">and </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Zee Horror Show</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;">, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt;">Ghoul</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.0000pt;"> is a refreshing change. Kudos to Netflix for bringing horror television in India up to the international standards.</span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-58633074586489611732018-08-05T12:26:00.000-07:002018-08-05T12:32:31.230-07:00MORIARTY - BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Moriarty</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0000pt;"> is second book in the series of pastiches written by Anthony Horowitz who has been authorized by Conan Doyle’s</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0000pt;"> estate to carry forward the legacy of the phenomenon that is Sherlock Holmes. The first book </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The House of Silk </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">which came out in 2011 brilliantly captures the essence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works and presents to us a sombre, dark and gloomy picture of the Victorian London. </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Moriarty</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> the second book in the series is bolder in its scope and treatment.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Moriarty</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> is essentially a Holmes novel but lacks its two central characters - Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson. Their places have been taken by Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard (who is first intoduced in Doyle’s </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The Sign of Four), </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">and Frederick Chase, an agent of American detective agency Pinkerton. The story fills the void between 1891 after Holmes’s disappearance in </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The Final Problem</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> and his reappearance in 1894 in </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The Adventure of the Empty House, </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">the period commonly known as the Great Hiatus.</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The</span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">events of the novel takes place in 1891 after the episode of the Reichenbach Falls as described in</span> <b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The Final Problem. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Both Holmes and his arch enemy Moriarty are supposedly dead after falling from the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland while fighting each other. A dead corpse resembling Moriarty is fished out of the Reichenbach Brook. Inspector Athelney Jones who is investigating the matter meets Frederick Chase and together they start investigating. From Chase Jones learns of the existence of a master criminal from America named Clarence Devereux who is ready to take over the underworld of London after Moriarty’s death. What follows is a series of gruesome murders and much blood is spilled on the streets of London.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmqOa8ZMYO4d1TOYRmvUn2LveuGnbQHmbV9lPSdF5n5y6Qczh8QmDu9VPXgP255c6DjIG8qTuHxPt5nsNic6PnPQPrRqETEEq1HE_RAJ9tN6dEIw_I1nCw_mcGtiPt9AS6C5luctHTOgj/s1600/Professor_Moriarty+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="610" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmqOa8ZMYO4d1TOYRmvUn2LveuGnbQHmbV9lPSdF5n5y6Qczh8QmDu9VPXgP255c6DjIG8qTuHxPt5nsNic6PnPQPrRqETEEq1HE_RAJ9tN6dEIw_I1nCw_mcGtiPt9AS6C5luctHTOgj/s200/Professor_Moriarty+pic.jpg" width="105" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Moriarty</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> has</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> all the elements of a Holmes novel. Macabre scenes of murder, disguises, honest thieves and red herrings are there in abundance. Athelney Jones is an admirer of Holmes. He has studied Holmes’s works and has modelled his investigating techniques on the techniques employed by the great detective. But he is no Sherlock Holmes. Frederick Chase here plays the part of Dr. Watson. Much of the interest in Holmes’s stories is generated by the relation between Holmes and Watson. The chemistry between Jones and Chase does not quite match up to that between Holmes and Watson. Like </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The House of Silk </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">Horowitz here exposes the dark underbelly of the Victorian London. The atmosphere here is darker and the murders more gory but the story never quite reaches the heights attained by the </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The House Of Silk</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> which is a more polished work of art. The final twist which though unexpected has no novelty about it. Overall it is a good novel and is recommended for the Holmes aficionados.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">P.S</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;"> - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The short story </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">The Three Monarchs </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">which is attached to the end of the novel is more in the Sherlockian mould and is a delight for the fans of the Holmes.</span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-10794550495930347842018-07-22T12:16:00.001-07:002018-07-27T14:20:50.312-07:00DEEP RED (PROFONDO ROSSO)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Deep Red </b>(<b>Profondo Rosso</b>) is a
1975 Italian film directed by <b>Dario Argento</b>. The movie is a perfect specimen of
the thriller/horror genre which developed in the mid 60s and 70s Italy known as
the <b>‘Giallo’. </b>Argento is one of the best exponents of this genre and
here we find the Italian master craftsman at the height of his powers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82_ltjO9CsaEh5TEKhyphenhyphen7mytV8PdznumR59WAutHgHxxH0bDi7L_8KV4EU-L0i3kJIcvpt3Azga6c_Tcm9EEZsYmOz1vDpAeh4e02UFRFDiT9OtRHjb9qOx3ZTCtRgQqrFcB_yNz6xIHkR/s1600/rescue.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82_ltjO9CsaEh5TEKhyphenhyphen7mytV8PdznumR59WAutHgHxxH0bDi7L_8KV4EU-L0i3kJIcvpt3Azga6c_Tcm9EEZsYmOz1vDpAeh4e02UFRFDiT9OtRHjb9qOx3ZTCtRgQqrFcB_yNz6xIHkR/s1600/rescue.jpeg" /></a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
tone of the movie is set in the opening credits itself when we witness a
horrific murder scene in silhouette<span style="color: red;"> </span>with a
lullaby playing in the background. Years later a psychic Helga Ulmann holds a
lecture in an auditorium where she senses that a murderer is present in the
audience. But before she could identify the murderer, the killer slips away.
Later that night the killer returns to her flat and attacks her with a butcher
knife. The murder is witnessed by a pianist Marcus Daly (David Hemmings). He rushes to the rescue of Ulmann but the killer has
already left after butchering her. <span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Later while recording his statement to the police Marcus finds something missing from the hallway of the deceased which is decorated with various paintings. He could not quite put his finger to what is amiss and asks the police inspector if they have removed some painting from the hallway. The policeman denies any such act but still some uneasiness remains in the mind of Marcus. Later when he discusses the case with his drunkard friend Carlo, the latter suggests that it may be something important. Meanwhile a journalist Gianna Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi)</span> snaps a picture of Marcus and
publishes it in the newspaper describing Marcus as <span style="text-align: left;">eyewitness to the murder.
Bodies pile up as the killer comes back for Marcus. Marcus and Gianna form a
partnership and start investigating the murders. Their investigations leads
them to a haunted house with a dark past. The final solution and the way it is
arrived at is brilliant and reminds one of the ingenious endings of the Agatha
Christie novels.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8F3CEYkrHfizFx6BPhxMnEU37mP7bd0pNJTQ59wNjcodOnPqpmnDnliMf_gnkG3GYcgvJahlXOk1l22XU1RsqX99dFT5NHh7iwi4OIHxxM70_jRL40AZOIGDPKCEP5n6wDeSbx0UQRve/s1600/puppet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8F3CEYkrHfizFx6BPhxMnEU37mP7bd0pNJTQ59wNjcodOnPqpmnDnliMf_gnkG3GYcgvJahlXOk1l22XU1RsqX99dFT5NHh7iwi4OIHxxM70_jRL40AZOIGDPKCEP5n6wDeSbx0UQRve/s320/puppet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
From
the first scene itself the director captures the attention of the audience and
he maintains that grip till the last scene is enacted. The body count is
substantial and the murder scenes are bloody and horrific. The puppet scene,
the drowning in hot water, the final death of the murderer are horrific. What
adds to the horror is the haunting background music by Italian band <b>Goblin</b>
and Giorgio Gaslini. The track <b>‘School at
Night’ </b>with which the movie opens is in the form of a child’s lullaby which
is both soothing and chilling at the same time. It gives us the goosebumps each
time the murderer plays it before killing someone. Some relief is provided by
the light hearted banter between Marcus (Hemmings) and Gianna (Nicolodi). (The
original Italian version of the film is about two hours, but the US version is
about twenty minutes short as most of the scenes between Hemmings and Nicolodi
were removed at the time of US release.)<br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
movie <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has withstood the test of time.
Even after forty years of its release it still <span style="text-align: left;">enthralls the audiences. It
keeps them guessing about the identity of the murderer and when the final piece
to the puzzle is provided it leaves them dumbfounded. This is a must watch for
the lovers of murder mystery.</span></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-55899132093564558152018-05-17T13:41:00.001-07:002018-05-20T09:02:39.941-07:00PARI :NOT A FAIRYTALE - MOVIE REVIEW<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_egCoc5G6No3A3tyWbKM01t4UnHBmCTBWy9H37pZSlu1JX9533UzzmUlaweMd1w9vPglf5fd1gRPJ5ezHqjSW58qjUuDwr5v87huBg6KZ5PsHC_1fJxV7Nn86fz5RUMQ7cs-kRdZbglB/s1600/puri_5569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="650" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_egCoc5G6No3A3tyWbKM01t4UnHBmCTBWy9H37pZSlu1JX9533UzzmUlaweMd1w9vPglf5fd1gRPJ5ezHqjSW58qjUuDwr5v87huBg6KZ5PsHC_1fJxV7Nn86fz5RUMQ7cs-kRdZbglB/s400/puri_5569.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Release Date : 02
Mar 2018 (India)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Run Time :
134 minutes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Language : Hindi<o:p></o:p></div>
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Directed by : Prosit
Roy<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cast : Anushka
Sharma<o:p></o:p></div>
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Parambrata
Chaterjee<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rajat
Kapoor<br />
<span style="text-indent: 36pt;"> Ritabhari
Chakraborty </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Budget : 18
crore</div>
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Box Office : 40 crore<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br />
There is a dearth of good horror
movies in Bollywood. The last really scary movie I can remember is the 1992
horror flick <b>Raat </b>by Ram Gopal Verma. True, there have been a few good
ones here & there like <b>Bhoot </b>& <b>Vaastu Shastra</b> but nothing
else much worth remembering. So, when <b>Pari </b>came out in 2018 with Anushka
Sharma as its leading lady, we had high hopes for the film. But does the movie
live up to its hype? Let’s find out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dd_2cFqO3DkHYgs-5xlliWZhSriaGLQL2HBwjIlA6jKVBf9dHEjwoMr7jQ4XaYRvu6nd5g7owPD9QqnNlshVeAYm0Opgbr_9aJTKXv1F96FqkELvnoHf3XCUQiCFq_Puc6C30ArRWalP/s1600/pari_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="660" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dd_2cFqO3DkHYgs-5xlliWZhSriaGLQL2HBwjIlA6jKVBf9dHEjwoMr7jQ4XaYRvu6nd5g7owPD9QqnNlshVeAYm0Opgbr_9aJTKXv1F96FqkELvnoHf3XCUQiCFq_Puc6C30ArRWalP/s320/pari_7.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
plot of the movie is set into motion when the car in which Arnab (Parambrata) is travelling accidently hits a woman killing her. This leads to the discovery of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rukshana (Anushka), a woman who is
chained in a cottage in the woods & who evidently has had little contact
with civilization. With nowhere to go & people lead by the mysterious
Professor Quasim Ali (Rajat Kapoor) chasing her she takes refuge in the house
of Arnab. What follows is a beautiful love story between the shy Arnab &
the naïve Rukshana. But all is not what it seems to be. Slowly but surely the
mystery surrounding Rukshana begins to unfold & we are taken to the world
of Djinns & mysterious cults<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>&
learn about Ifrit & the satanic<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cult
in Bangladesh called Auladchakra & of the deadly secret involving Rukshana.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8bgff_NHOQaapRflvIm57j4B4RBHi0qym_YCOx2bzRdjaLSeyVxbprYACjYKvoGqAYqycvqHyCP5d49X1f6jDxW3z9y8odUBbYBD2ExVg79GMCWIVjC8AYDd8rBRIWQ8IzqOS2NftXIx/s1600/Pari3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1500" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8bgff_NHOQaapRflvIm57j4B4RBHi0qym_YCOx2bzRdjaLSeyVxbprYACjYKvoGqAYqycvqHyCP5d49X1f6jDxW3z9y8odUBbYBD2ExVg79GMCWIVjC8AYDd8rBRIWQ8IzqOS2NftXIx/s320/Pari3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
problem with the movie is it’s length. With a run time of 2hr15min the movie
feels at least half an hour too long. A lot of time is taken in setting up the
story & unravelling the plot. There are enough gut wrenching & stomach
churning scenes in the movie like the scenes involving forced childbirth &
killing of the new borns, the killing of the dog, the morgue scene, & the
director employs such classic techniques such as killing a man by rotating his
head 180 degrees. But such scenes are scattered far apart in the movie & as
a result the plot loses it’s grip on the audience.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
movie is set in Kolkata. The suspense in the movie is mainly atmospheric, and
what adds to this is its setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have seen the joyous side of the city in movies like <b>Piku, </b>but here we
are also shown the dark side of the city. The city with it’s narrow lanes &
by-lanes, with it’s decrepit buildings not only adds to the atmosphere but here
it becomes a central character. On the one hand we see love blooming in the
open spaces of Maidan<b>, </b>on the other we see the horror in it’s
claustrophobic lanes. DOP Jishnu Bhattacharjee has beautifully captured both
sides of the city.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_pO0Ga1OacgomidXwQOtLaMlZCZ3xr-zrZzHquOVBN_Ve_2QSeMwB23xw5UoN6g_ih7x7Emr3ebXcaVYedB5rtefOFeed9Q0kprI7LPVaMQcdcWpCoopPSijt-85dLtBfg4rrU4INSNc/s1600/pari-movie-review-anushka-sharma-and-her-film-are-scary-as-hell-heaven-and-everything-in-between.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="825" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_pO0Ga1OacgomidXwQOtLaMlZCZ3xr-zrZzHquOVBN_Ve_2QSeMwB23xw5UoN6g_ih7x7Emr3ebXcaVYedB5rtefOFeed9Q0kprI7LPVaMQcdcWpCoopPSijt-85dLtBfg4rrU4INSNc/s320/pari-movie-review-anushka-sharma-and-her-film-are-scary-as-hell-heaven-and-everything-in-between.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another
saving grace of the movie is the performance of it’s lead actors. After<b> NH
10 </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anushka delivers another chilling
performance. She is magnificent both as the vulnerable & frightened girl
Rukshana and as her horrific counterpart. Parambrata delivers a subdued
performance as the shy & introvert Arnab. Ritabhari who plays the part of Arnab’s
fiancée also looks charming enough. Rajat Kapoor looks menacing as the
Professor with one glass eye.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
movie falls short of our expectations and does not quite fill the void in the horror genre in
Bollywood. But it has a beautiful and unusual love story between it’s main
protagonists. You can enjoy it as a supernatural love story. The movie asks the
question – who is the real Monster and the answer is quite unsettling.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii61YtFchiVQNNnjioIChdM8oTVxWcFHJujKxRIu9KC6AxUfOjAY1vqtLBdDJgnbGXgRiihkKBCjAOFn5Gqq-QDAufDsTAET9MfxcS-GF642xpiJO7vWYWuIMYFcTcQ4GRMML2tm_bSZea/s1600/220px-Pari_-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii61YtFchiVQNNnjioIChdM8oTVxWcFHJujKxRIu9KC6AxUfOjAY1vqtLBdDJgnbGXgRiihkKBCjAOFn5Gqq-QDAufDsTAET9MfxcS-GF642xpiJO7vWYWuIMYFcTcQ4GRMML2tm_bSZea/s320/220px-Pari_-4.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-25050314478013460772018-04-07T14:59:00.001-07:002018-04-29T12:13:10.697-07:00STORMBREAKER - FIRST ALEX RIDER NOVEL BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnggkWUvGLziFhJ5dNG5DcnrjL9Ta7RWAXMydsU377TfCjt0a8ZVB8dRlEcOsVwnUF3JwAr3Ma1LB8FnwQZ8aeH3PEv1DzjrP0wOnwjV-0TOenf3i1FOg_g2a4f4Ij4JMF_p-T2A73ljgs/s1600/Stormbreaker_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="373" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnggkWUvGLziFhJ5dNG5DcnrjL9Ta7RWAXMydsU377TfCjt0a8ZVB8dRlEcOsVwnUF3JwAr3Ma1LB8FnwQZ8aeH3PEv1DzjrP0wOnwjV-0TOenf3i1FOg_g2a4f4Ij4JMF_p-T2A73ljgs/s200/Stormbreaker_2.jpg" width="126" /></a>Stormbreaker is the first novel
in the Alex Rider series written by Anthony Horowitz for Young Adults. In the
writer’s own words “I’ve always wanted to write a modern ‘teenager saves the
world’ story. It was a recurring fantasy when I was at school that I wasn’t a
bored thirteen-year-old, stuck in a gruesome north London prep school, but that
I was, in, in reality, an MI6 agent.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stormbreaker
introduces us to Alex Rider, a fourteen year old orphan boy, who has been raised
by his uncle Ian Rider. Ian Rider, a Banker by profession is killed in a car
accident. Alex grows suspicious when he learns that his uncle, who was a
stickler for road safety, was not wearing his seat belt. Alex starts
investigating his uncle’s death and soon learns that he was in fact an MI6
agent. Ian’s last assignment was to investigate the activities of Herod Sayle. Herod
Sayle is a millionaire who has announced to donate his company’s state of the
art computer called Stormbreaker to every secondary school in Britain. Alex is
forced to join MI6 by its Chief Executive of the Special Operations Division
Alan Blunt. He is given gruelling SAS training & then sent undercover to uncover
the truth behind the truth behind Sayle Enterprises. Alex starts investigating and
soon learns of the deadly secret of the Stormbreakers’ which can destroy
Britain for generations to come. Alex races against time as he must now not
only save himself from the immense danger to his life but the whole of Britain
from extinction. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviKmiJzyh1GmjPg232YRGi1XZAqbguS1qMdm8lf-VbnNKiFmUtfdRQyXt5zpNZBM1pKWMAQgfVQsRkRvPVM90jlydCCDfTdSZxWRScEdWm0lOQkeVX3glwPsAa_gDIIAYrHBrNbT6t44k/s1600/220px-Stormbreakerposter2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviKmiJzyh1GmjPg232YRGi1XZAqbguS1qMdm8lf-VbnNKiFmUtfdRQyXt5zpNZBM1pKWMAQgfVQsRkRvPVM90jlydCCDfTdSZxWRScEdWm0lOQkeVX3glwPsAa_gDIIAYrHBrNbT6t44k/s200/220px-Stormbreakerposter2.jpg" width="134" /></a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stormbreaker
is a Bond novel written for the young readers. Here we have plenty of cool
gadgets - a motorized Yo-Yo, a tube of Zit-Clean Cream which can cut through
metal and last but not the least a Nintendo Game Boy Color which can turn into
a fax machine, a X-ray machine, a bug finder or into<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a smoke bomb. The action sequences, especially the one with the Portuguese man-of-war, are breathtaking. Alex Rider is every
bored schoolboy’s fantasy. Highly recommended for young readers of 10-16 age
group.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
P.S. – If you have watched and
enjoyed the 2003 Spy movie <b>Agent Cody Banks, </b>you will simply love
Horowitz’s<b> Stormbreaker </b>no matter what your age.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3030668668379208059.post-23275251351165981362018-03-28T14:22:00.000-07:002018-04-29T12:31:50.959-07:00MAGPIE MURDERS BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9mmfkf1OvlRGUfU5ePabJ7TIGVsCuCzMl3nH5CmuZhl2CODrgB53DTdn7Vk1hUr0uqZVZ4FfXs96RwVVJpXL581fzJe__tJke_Pui5p-xARv4JJWaiM61mLwHTRE1OyiYBOCkGF1L77v/s1600/MAGPIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="230" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9mmfkf1OvlRGUfU5ePabJ7TIGVsCuCzMl3nH5CmuZhl2CODrgB53DTdn7Vk1hUr0uqZVZ4FfXs96RwVVJpXL581fzJe__tJke_Pui5p-xARv4JJWaiM61mLwHTRE1OyiYBOCkGF1L77v/s200/MAGPIE.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Magpie Murders is an examination
into the whole world of whodunits. It delves into the<span style="color: red;"> </span>relationship
between the detective, the reader and the writer and it asks us what is in
these books which entertains us so. It pays homage to the Golden Age of crime fiction,
the works of writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. The book
employs the technique of novel within a novel so that you enjoy two mysteries
for the price of one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Susan Ryeland is the Head of
Fiction at Cloverleaf Books. When the book opens we find her on a wet August
evening settling to read the manuscript of ‘Magpie Murders’, the number nine
novel of the much loved Atticus Pünd series by the author Alan Conway. The
central character Atticus Pünd is a German refugee who has survived the
Holocaust. He invariably reminds us of Agatha Christie’s famous detective
Hercule Poirot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Atticus has terminal
cancer and has only about three months to live.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first part of the novel is set
in the 1950s picturesque English village called Saxby-on-Avon where we find
Atticus Pünd investigating what appears to be two murders. Mary Blakiston, the
housekeeper of Pye Hall and Sir Magnus Pye, the owner of Pye Hall who has been
beheaded. We have a whole range of suspects ranging from the Vicar to the spinster
sister of Sir Magnus. Atticus diligently investigates the deaths and is about
to announce the murderer when Susan Ryeland finds that the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>final chapters of the novel are missing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Susan is shocked to find that the
author of the book Alan Conway has committed suicide as he was suffering from
terminal illness. She starts investigating the death of Alan Conway and finds
that all is not what it appears to be. She finds out that all the characters of
the novel ‘Magpie Murders’ are taken from the real life people whom Alan knew.
So, the fiction and the real life become intertwined and the solution to the
book is in the real world or vice versa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The novel is a double delight
for the fans of crime fiction. On the one hand the author provides us with the
flavours of classical mysteries of the Golden Age. The writing style & the
characters reminds us of Agatha Christie. The silent sleepy English village of
Saxby-on-Avon is evocative of the village in Miss Marple’s books with all the
undercurrents of passions, greed & jealousy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the author whets our appetite for a modern
day mystery with the investigation of Susan Ryeland into Alan Conway’s death.
The skill with which the author has woven these two distinct threads together
is commendable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Magpie Murders provides us with
an insight into the world of whodunits, the process of its conception and creation.
The following words from Susan Ryeland sums it all up: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
“Whodunnits
are all about truth: nothing more, nothing less…… The stories mimic our
experience in the world. We are surrounded by tensions and ambiguities, which
we spend half our life trying to resolve, and we’ll probably be on our own
deathbed when we reach that moment when everything makes sense. Just about
every whodunnit provides that pleasure. It is the reason for their existence.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDhZw8tfpbHVYl6ZOo235rITaxcmNmSRSsrxIvTEjrtePWB3-GuRWptneP4_4SfePoPU9URaEH-3VLPIkd01QGHJu249KGI8lC7WMG0cnsowe4gNEnFK3Ipaos_gHI1g_SZhdzdZuRu9Y/s1600/ANTHONY_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="540" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDhZw8tfpbHVYl6ZOo235rITaxcmNmSRSsrxIvTEjrtePWB3-GuRWptneP4_4SfePoPU9URaEH-3VLPIkd01QGHJu249KGI8lC7WMG0cnsowe4gNEnFK3Ipaos_gHI1g_SZhdzdZuRu9Y/s200/ANTHONY_.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anthony Horowitz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Magpie Murders is a fast paced novel which keeps the reader on their
toes. Though the novel slows down a bit in the second half, but still the
writer keeps up the pace and it ultimately races towards an unexpected and
thrilling end. A must read for every lover of crime fiction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Suggested reading Anthony Horowitz : The House of Silk, Moriarty</div>
Sourish Royhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15401761967004844960noreply@blogger.com0